Shooting Live Music

I'm new =O and have a question. We're shooting a friend's concert tonight and in the past we've had very inconsistent success.

We have a Nikon D50 with the stock lens, stock flash and also the zoom lens that everyone seems to upgrade to (the one with stabilization, I can't remember exactly which one but it was $250 at best buy if that helps).

Anyway, major issues are the pics come out blurry often and the flash sometimes doesn't even go off, but that may be our fault.

Main question is, what would ideal settings be for this type of situation? It's much brighter (most of the time) on stage than it is where I'm shooting from.

Don't use flash. I can't tell you what the exact settings you'll want will be, because every lighting rig is different. Use Aperture Priority mode, widest aperture possible, ISO 800 or 1600. You will want to use spot metering, and meter off the subject. Autofocus may not work in low light, so be prepared to use manual focus.

After you get an idea of what shutter speed you need, switch to manual mode.